Milecastle

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The remains of Milecastle 39, near Steel Rigg.

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Frontiers and fortifications (limes, Hadrian's Wall)

A milecastle or milecastle fort is a fortified structure constructed along Hadrian's Wall in Great Britain. Its primary duty was a gatehouse and garrison that controlled passage across the frontier. These structures were separated by distances of approximately one Roman mile.^[1] There are 81 milecastle forts along Hadrian's Wall, supplemented by 160 manned turrets and 16 forts larger than the milecastles.^[2] The wall and its forts were constructed primarily to prevent unwanted immigration from the north, not as a fighting line for a major invasion.^[3]

[edit] Gateways

The milecastles of Hadrian's Wall are recognised as having three principal types of gateway.

Type I have piers protruding symmetrically on the inside and outside of the gateway, with responds on both the inside and outside. The piers and passage-walls tend to be in large masonry. Generally thought to have been built by legio II Augusta.

Type II have piers protruding on the inside of the gateway, with responds on outside. The piers and passage-walls tend to be in smaller masonry than Type I. Only found on Narrow Wall milecastles; when similar gateways are found on Broad Wall milecastles, it is sometimes referred to as Type IV. Generally thought to have been built by legio VI Victrix.

Type III have piers protruding on the inside of the gateway, with responds on both the inside and outside. The piers and tend to be in large masonry and the passage-walls in smaller material. Generally thought to have been built by legio XX Valeria Victrix.

[edit] References

^ David Else and Oliver Berry, England, 2005, 780 pages ISBN 40599225
^ C.Michael Hogan (2007) Hadrian's Wall, ed. A. Burnham, The Megalithic Portal
^ Stephen Johnson (2004) Hadrian's Wall, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc, 128 pages, ISBN 0713488409

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